Menu

New Trump Hotels to Dump the Trump Name

The Trump name, which is Donald Trump’s primary business asset, is now so toxic that his company is running away from it as fast as possible. Travel and Leisure reports:

Amidst reports that occupancy rates at Trump Hotels have slipped this election season, the company has announced that new brand hotels will no longer bear the Trump name.

The newest line of luxury hotels, geared towards millennials, will be called Scion, the company said.

“We wanted a name that would be a nod to the Trump family and to the tremendous success it has had with its businesses, including Trump Hotels, while allowing for a clear distinction between our luxury and lifestyle brands,” Trump Hotels CEO Eric Danziger said in a statement.

Although Trump Hotels has said the new name has nothing to do with the eponymous businessman’s presidential campaign,empty rooms at the hotels have caused officials “to reduce rates during the peak season,” according to New York Magazine.

Millenials don’t like Donald Trump? You don’t say!

The company has experienced genuine difficulty since Trump announced his presidential bid:

Nightly rates at the newly-opened Trump International Hotel in D.C. plummeted below $500 while practically every other five-star property was sold out for the International Monetary Fund conference two weeks ago. And after his remarks about Mexican immigrants, two celebrity chefs backed out of their contracts to open a restaurant in the hotel.

According to Hipmunk, bookings at Trump Hotels plummeted 59 percent during the first half of 2016 and data from Foursquare shows a 17 percent drop in foot traffic at Trump properties since June 2015, when the reality TV star announced his presidential bid.

I can personally attest to being one person who actively avoids Trump properties. As I wrote this, I am looking out the window of my home down at a Donald Trump golf course, far down the hill. In the past, when guests would come into town, we would often take them to breakfast at the restaurant on that property. Then we would go for a walk in the park and hike down to the beach. It never really occurred to me that I might be putting money in Donald Trump’s pocket.

Since late 2015, we have gone elsewhere. I’m not saying we’ll never go there again. We might. But we might not. The idea of giving Trump even a dime of my money has so far outweighed the pleasure we might get from eating there. (And it’s a public park, and we can still hike to the ocean there without spending anything.)